


the suffering and silence of a starwalker

by WritingForFood



Series: Miles and Sam: Tales of a Spider and a Rocket [1]
Category: Champions (Comics), Marvel, Marvel 616
Genre: Angst, Comfort, M/M, Nova Sam, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 23:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17590118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingForFood/pseuds/WritingForFood
Summary: sam has been quieter than usual, and none of the other champions seem to notice, but miles does.





	the suffering and silence of a starwalker

After a team meeting a few hours after a serious mission, the Champions had parted into the different rooms of their Mobile Bunker. Usually the air would be filled with laughter and conversation regardless of what happened during a mission, yet no one spoke as they split up. No one noticed the miserable look on Sam's face as he was the last one to leave the room, his legs in autopilot as they carried his tired body towards his room. This was becoming a noticable trend, lately.

Miles didn't like that.

Miles couldn't blame the rest of the Champions for not noticing. They all had a lot on their plate. Kamala was always recruiting over the forums or planning missions, whilst Amadeus and Riri never left their rooms as they worked on brand new projects. Vivian and Nadia had spent a lot of time with Vision and thus didn't have much time to interact with the rest of the team as of late, but aided in missions. Yet Sam was always the lively one. The one with energy, the one with pluck, the one with hope.

He could see why. It hadn't been an easy year. Miles knew Sam had troubles at home, and although he kept up his cheerful facade, the spiderling couldn't help but worry if things had worsened. Or maybe something was bothering him? Distracting him, possibly? Miles was eager to find out, he's always been there for him. So, he knew he had to be there for Sam too. Especially since they shared a room.

Miles watched as Amadeus and Riri said goodbye as they disappeared from the hallway, before glancing towards Kamala who was busy tapping away at the bunker's computer. Sparky laid resting at her feet. Usually before bed, Miles had kept up his routine of drawing in the cockpit. They always stopped in different places which gave the young artist a touch of inspiration every time they stopped. Miles decided to skip drawing tonight, knowing Sam was more important. He slowly jogged towards their door and entered. The lights were already off, but Miles could see Sam in bed. Despite being the shorter of the two, he always took the top bunk with caused a temporary smirk on Miles' face. He wasn't asleep either.

Miles stood on his tip toes to look at Sam who was lying down, facing the wall. He gently tapped on the boys arm and awaited a response. Seconds later, he turned over yet Miles couldn't see his face properly due to the dark.

"What do you want, Miles?" Sam asked, his voice weak and hoarse.

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay, dude?"

"I'm fine, Miles." Sam went to turn but Miles placed his hand on the Nova's arm.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

Miles heard Sam sniffle and saw him shake his head. Miles whispered 'come here' and helped the boy out of bed, catching him so he wouldn't have to touch the cold floor without socks. He sat Sam in his own bed before turning to turn on the lights. Miles' noticed the red puffiness in Sam's eyes, making it clear to him this was daily occurrence. Miles raised his mask to his nose so he could speak as he joined Sam on the bed. Unlike Sam, he hadn't revealed his identity to the rest of the team yet.

"What's wrong?" Miles asked again, placing a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. "You haven't been yourself lately."

"It's nothing," Sam mumbled, wiping his eyes shakily. "It's stupid."

"Hey, _hey_. It's never stupid. It's okay to talk about it, you know that right? No matter how big or small, you can talk to me about whatever this is."

Sam went quiet for a little bit, and Miles remained by his side allowing him to take his time on whatever was causing this state. His placed hand turned into a small rubbing across his back. Sam sighed, wiped his eyes again and crossed his legs before speaking.

"I've been dealing with a lot of stuff lately. Things feel like they're getting worse, things _are_ getting worse, I-" Sam took a deep breath before speaking again. "It started a while ago. And, and - it's just. Since then things have been building up and I don't really seem to be, like, acknowledging them? Or doing anything helpful for myself. To help. To help... To help myself get past them. My dad going missing. The Phoenix incident and my coma. Going blind. Getting shot. My fight with Kluh..."

Miles can tell that Sam would continue but the waterworks have started again, and Sam quickly covers his face. Miles heart hurts. Almost like instinct, Miles pulls the shorter boy towards himself and rests Sam's face in his chest. Miles' hand places itself against the back of Sam's head and kindly runs through his hair. He shushes him.

"Hey, it's alright. It's okay to be upset about this, it's okay to let others know that you _are_ upset about this. It's not good to keep it all away, it's definitely not healthy. I'm so proud of you, Sam."

"Y-You are? Why..?" Sam asks, his voice muffled by tears and Miles' suit.

"Why wouldn't I be? Everything you've done is so brave. And selfless. And amazing. You're a superhero, and hell. Even superhero's can cry. So that's why I'm proud of you, and why I always will be," Miles explains, his tone lighthearted as he smiles at Sam.

Sam doesn't know what to say in response. He mutters a small thank you, just loud enough for Miles to hear. They stay in this position of consolation for a while. Miles soft hands holding Sam's tense body close as the latters head remains stationary on his neck. Although not made clear, neither boy wants to move. The two eventually move to lean against the wall next to Miles' bed. They figure hours have passed, but only minutes do. Time stops still amid love.

There's a light tapping at the door. Riri's voice. "Miles? Can you come help me with something?"

Miles ears and eyes perk up, but they glance back to Sam. "Go. I'll wait for you."

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight? Would it make you feel better?" He whispers.

Sam whispers back, "it would."

Miles smiles and gets up from the bed. "Coming, Riri."

The task Riri gives him was rather simple, web some things from the ground that they'd retrieved from their mission into the storage bay of their bunker, supposedly something inside was what Riri wanted to work with. Miles did it with a cheery smile, one Riri raised an eyebrow at. Though she doesn't ask him about it, she waves him off back to his room and Miles enters. Sam is still awake, yet laid down.

He places his mask just above his nose again and joins Sam in his bed. He's obviously tired and Miles asks why he didn't go to sleep. Sam chuckles lightly, a good image for Miles to see compared to seeing him cry. "I wanted to say goodnight."

Miles can't help but laugh in response too, climbing under the covers as he wraps a protective arm around Sam. Sam places his face in Miles' chest as if it's routine. A new routine for Miles, though he doesn't know it.

"Then say it."

"Goodnight, Miles."

"Goodnight, hero."

 


End file.
